Dev lowers Jacob and his chair together down the stairs to the front walk, and then spends a few minutes attaching the crocodile tail and head onto the wheelchair. When he’s done, we have a five-foot-long reptilian beast rolling down the sidewalk, surrounded by Spider-Man, a fairy princess, and a tiny, beautiful vampire, complete with cape.
I look up at Dev. “What are you supposed to be?” He’s dressed all in green. Now that I have time to focus on him, I realize how thoroughly he’s covered himself in one color. I can’t stop laughing.
He pauses and holds his arms out. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m a green bean.”
I shake my head, grinning until I get a cheek cramp. “You’re too much.”
He doesn’t say anything; he just reaches out and takes my hand. We walk down the street together, the witch and the green bean, letting the kids go up to the neighbors’ front doors on their own. It’s a pretty big deal, because normally I insist on accompanying them all the way in.
Within two houses, a routine is established. The girls are in the lead, but they look back as they’re going up to each door, making sure the boys are close behind. Sammy walks next to Jacob, in the grass if necessary. He has taken his ownership of a pet crocodile very seriously; he’s not letting him out of his sight.
“Trick or treat!” Their voices ring out around the neighborhood along with the hundred or so other kids busy hauling in their sugary treasures. Several of the parents walking by stop to say hello. These are people who would normally just pass me by with a wave, but when they see Dev, they’re compelled to be more sociable. They probably think an NBA player has moved onto the block.
I feel like I’m the most popular girl on the street, something I never experienced when married to Miles. And Dev is a serious charmer. Even though he’s dressed as a giant green bean, he manages to engage everyone in intelligent conversations that have them laughing and inviting him over for a beer sometime. By the time the kids are done with their trick-or-treating, I’ve fallen even harder for him. It almost makes me worry.
“Why do you look so sad all of a sudden?” Dev asks as we’re walking on the sidewalk in front of my house.
I manage a smile. “I’m not. I was just thinking how much fun I’m having.”
“And that makes you frown?”
I shake my head. “No. I just have these melancholy moments sometimes, worrying how long the good stuff is going to last. Just ignore me.”
He grabs me and pulls me in close. “Don’t worry about that stuff. We’re having fun, right?”
I nod into his chest, my cheek rubbing on his green beanery. “Yes, we are.”
My next thought is cut off by the vision of my front door opening as my girls climb up the front steps.
Who’s in my house? “Stop!” I yell at the kids. They all pause and turn to look at me. Jacob and Sammy turn more slowly, Sammy leaping out of the way of the moving wheelchair before it knocks him over.
“Looks like someone’s home,” Dev says, standing straighter and walking over the grass.
For a moment there, I thought there was an intruder in my house, but now I know better. With the light on behind him, I can see the silhouette of my ex-husband in the doorway. And he’s not alone. What in the hell . . . ?
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Dev goes a few more steps before he realizes I’m not with him anymore. He turns around and looks at me questioningly.
“I cannot believe him,” I say quietly so my voice won’t carry.
Dev looks at the front door and then back at me. “Is there a problem?”
“That’s my ex-husband.” I grind my teeth together before finishing. “And I’m going to guess that’s his new girlfriend.”
Dev looks once more at the house before he turns to me. “Why are they in your house?”
I start walking, taking long strides. “That is an excellent question that I am going to go find the answer to.”
As I move to pass by Dev, he reaches out and takes my hand.
I hesitate and look up at him.
“I know you want to go in there and rip some heads off. Believe me, I get it. But don’t forget, you have an audience.”
I squeeze his hand. “You’re right. Don’t worry. I would never kill my ex with this many witnesses around.”
He chuckles. “That’s my girl.”
His words have a very soothing effect on me. He called me his girl! So my ex-husband is a dick. Big deal. My new boyfriend is awesome. I’m so much better off in my new life with Dev by my side and the Bourbon Street Boys as my employer than I was with Miles and that whole mess of an existence we had together. There was too much sadness there. Too much disrespect. Dev would never treat me the way Miles did, and I’m proud to know that at this point in my life, I’d never let a man treat me like Miles did again. I’m stronger now. Smarter. Less naïve and seeing more clearly what I want in life and who I want to live it with.